I’ve been so busy with the garden and Spring and working on the road that I have neglected my little series. I believe I owe you one more segment, right? Since I plan to visit Chautauqua Miniatures on Monday, let’s get back into a dollhouse kind of mood.
All through the renovation, there was one room that I totally ignored. You can see it at the very top of the house on the left. On occasion, I would stop and wonder what the heck I was going to do with it, but the main house was my priority. So I thought of it as a potential attic and figured I’d artfully stash some minis up there and call it a day.
Have I ever told you how creative my husband is? One day we were looking at the dollhouse and I was going on and on about my ideas for it and I mentioned my lack of inspiration for that space. My husband knows what a devoted gardener I am, so, to him, having it be some sort of potting shed or greenhouse made sense and he told me so.
Brilliant. (It had never occurred to me.)
Well, that got me going and I suddenly found myself excited about the possibilities for that room and for the roof itself (the roof will eventually be Part Seven of the Renovation Series.)
One day, I just went for it. I grabbed some aqua colored paint and painted the walls. Since the texture of the walls was already uneven, I went with that and rubbed some of the paint off, adding some antiquing gel to age them further. I wanted the room to look shabbily aged, like an attic room that has been repurposed for very little money.
At this point, I wasn’t in the mood to lay a wood floor made out of popsicle sticks, so I grabbed some leftover beadboard, cut it to fit the floor space, and painted it red. It was a time saving move, but it ended up being one of my favorite things about this room.
I had a bathroom vanity that someone had given me, but I wasn’t going to use it because it was out of scale – it was too tall. But you have to think outside the box and I realized I could definitely use the sink. So I took it apart and made some legs from trim that I had on hand, put it together and, what do you know? It worked!
The cherub on the wall came from my stash of all sorts of stuff that I keep in the cupboard in the studio. I thought it would be the perfect architectural artifact for the room. I had the big white pitcher and the flowers and basket in my stash.
Next on the agenda was some sort of potting bench. I made this from some shutters in my stash. The legs were made from some newel posts that I had on hand and I cut them down to work with the table top. I ordered the pots and the potting soil from miniatures.com.
The watering can and large pot on the left also came from miniatures.com.
So far so good, but not quite there yet.
There was one idea that kept percolating in my brain. I measured the space and ordered the necessary element. It arrived. But I was a little hesitant and I didn’t do anything until I was in one of those What the heck? kind of moods and then I went for it. Out came my keyhole saw. I traced the opening. I drilled a starter hole. And then I sawed. And sawed.
It worked.
Behold, my skylight! I love, love it. And it’s one of the tweaks I made to the dollhouse that I am proudest of. After all, the owner needs some natural light in her potting space, don’t you think?
I keep adding things here and there:
The internet is an amazing source for dollhouse printables. That’s where I found the seed packets and the botanical poster on the wall.
And these. I love the butterflies. I got that crate from Weston Miniatures (on Etsy.) It inspired the crates I made for the Miniature Swap. (By the way the minis from that swap have arrived, but I have to wait until I get home to open the box!)
The trowel also came from Weston Miniatures.
The latest addition is the green stool, which I ordered from miniatures.com and painted and aged. (That hinge, by the way, was added by the dollhouse’s original owners. I’ve managed to cover most of them up. I’m plotting what to do to hide this one. To Be Determined.)
Next up, when I have the time and the funds, will be the rooftop garden. Oh, do I have plans for that space!
The winner of a copy of Moving Day is Linda from A La Carte! Congratulations, Linda!
Happy Thursday.
Of course! A roof top garden. The whole time I was reading this, it was nagging at me that this darling room was at the top of the house, and I’m assuming the gardens are ground level. Obviously, I’m not a city girl. I can’t wait to see the what you do with the garden! LOVE this room, Claudia.
Yes, it’s a City House, Karen. Maybe a small patch of grass, etc. in the backyard, but the garden is definitely concentrated on the roof.
Brilliant! The use of this gorgoues little room, the skylight, and a rooftop garden to boot. I’m smitten with your little house, Claudia!
Have a happy one today,
Lin
Lin, I still owe you those questions. Having to suddenly go out of town threw a spanner in the works! I’ll get to them when I get back home. Thanks for your patience!
This is one of my favorite rooms in you doll house. I love the skylight and the little pots are so cute. The rooftop garden will be so much fun! I’m so excited that I won the book giveaway! Yeah! Enjoy your time away and can’t wait to see what miniatures you find
hugs, LInda.
So glad you won, Linda! I’m sure looking forward to that visit on Monday.
I love this house Claudia. It is You. I am so glad you are sharing the process with us. Thank you.
I am going to my cousin’s tomorrow, and I get to start painting my new house. The walls. I am wallpapering the living room, and the master bedroom. I am so excited!
Thank you Claudia, for showing me that even as an adult I can make my childhood dream come true
You must be very excited, indeed, Trudy! Your cousin sounds like a great guy. If you have a chance, will you send me a photo of the dollhouse? I’d love to see it.
Don had the perfect idea for that room…and your idea of a rooftop garden….perfection! A great collaboration of two imaginative minds! ;)
When we’re clicking together, Don and I can be pretty creative!
I was guessing you would do a rooftop garden..I can’t wait to see you work on it..You did such a great job of making items yourself..you should be proudest of those..I also can’t wait for your trip to the miniature shop on Monday..How exciting..I hope you can take some pictures so the rest of us can drool over them..lol..
I’ll be sure to take as many as I can!
Your garden room/potting shed is so darling. Love the skylight. A roof top garden is what I may have to do also since there’s no place below to make a garden and I do have several cute garden pieces.
Precious!!
Judy
Yes, I don’t have a place to make a garden downstairs, either, Judy. Rooftop may be the way for you to go.
Wanted to let you know I received my copy of Casebook A Novel last week. It’s the first hardback I have held (new) in a while. I must confess to going the cheaper route with my kindle. Its nice to have a fresh new real book to delve into.
Hope you have a great time at the mineatures store . Can’t wait to hear about it and maybe see some pics
Take care :)
SueZK
So glad you got the copy of Casebook, Sue! Enjoy!
HI Claudia,
I love, love, love how your dollhouse came out…enjoyed following along as you renovated it and love your little attic potting shed. I really need to clean, reorganize and update mine but am waiting for a burst of dollhouse energy. Meantime, I’m living vicariously through you!
Cheryl
I find that I get burst of dollhouse energy then sometimes go for long periods without doing anything to it, Cheryl. I understand.
Claudia, That little potting room is absolutely adorable. xoxo,Susie
Thanks, Susie.
My gosh, Claudia. I love everything you did. The skylight? Genius
Thanks, Stacy.
This was just what I needed today. Thanks! Now go home and open that box from the mini trade thing! STAT!
Not for another 10 days or so, Peggy.
I was going to suggest a rooftop garden but you beat me to it. It all looks lovely:)
I’ve had that idea for a while, Dawn. Just have to get to work on it.
Your dollhouse is so much (vicarious) fun, Claudia!
Love it! Creative, inspirational, and fun…
Just curious. Do you find the advertising worth doing? I toy with the idea.
I’m a bit late catching up with this post Claudia but it’s a delight to see your house again. What a wonderful transformation you’ve achieved – it’s packed full of charm :)